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Translation of abstract (English)

Children suffering from hyperactive disorder need focused, effective remedy, especially in the area of self-regulation. These techniques should also be easily applicable by school teachers. Hatha-Yoga exercises are suitable for this purpose. A structured Yoga programme has been designed for this study. Its objective was to verify the impact of Hatha-Yoga on the core-symptoms of hyperactive disorder – attention deficits, hyperactivity and impulsivity. Effects have been measured using field-tested methods. The target group was composed of N=20 seven to ten year old primary school pupils (1st to 4th grade of the German Grundschule) in the area of Heidelberg, Mannheim and Weinheim clinically diagnosed with hyperactive disorder with or without behavioral disorders according to ICD-10. The study was based on a crossover-design with 4 groups of 5 to 6 pupils. Each group was trained in two phases of 8 weeks with a 6-week interruption in between. Apart from a significant reduction of hyperactivity and impulsivity, the treatment improved attention and social behaviour. The results of this pilot study will have to be confirmed via large-scale studies.